


Bruises

by vhslmtd



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Domestic Violence, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:35:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26777473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vhslmtd/pseuds/vhslmtd
Summary: When a random guy walks into the precinct, he says something that leaves everyone in shock. Amy has a big secret. Like a BIG secret.-rated mature just in case(set sometime at the beginning of season 2)
Relationships: Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 33
Kudos: 125





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a story specifically on here so I'm still getting used to the tags and all that but don't worry I'll figure it out haha.
> 
> I've also never written a b99 story before, I've been watching the show for years though, so feedback is greatly appreciated!
> 
> Just a few quick things -in this story, Amy and Teddy never dated and Katie (Rosa's friend) wasn't exactly like Rosa. All the events besides those are the same up until about episode 2x03.

"Earth to Santiago," Jake said playfully as he leaned forward to snap his figures in front of her face.

Amy jumped slightly, causing Jake to recoil back to his side of the desk. He watched as she shook her head, coming out of her daydream. He smirked when she immediately grabbed her stack of paperwork and began hastily flipping through it.

"Not gonna lie, thought we lost you there," Jake said, his tone coming out serious but the grin he had on his face telling a different story.

"Sorry, I'm just tired," she mumbled without looking up from her paperwork.

The smile that was once plastered on his face had disappeared, her tone-that sounded almost desperate-and the fact there was no insult towards him afterwards had caught him off guard. He narrowed his eyes towards her, tilting his head slightly.

"Something on your mind?" he asks half seriously and half already knowing what she's going to say.

Amy lifts her head up to look at him, seemingly thrown off by his sudden care towards her.

"No, everything's fine. Just didn't sleep well."

"Ahh," Jake breathed.

"Why do you care?" Amy asked, genuinely curious.

Jake shrugged.

"I don't. Just want to make sure you aren't going to fall asleep while we're interrogating a perp," he said, back to his laid back attitude.

And he's back.

Amy rolled her eyes at him and focused her attention back to her paperwork. Jake was still watching her observantly, not being able to shake the feeling of something being off.

She would tell him if something was going on right? I mean, they’re partners and close friends. He basically confessed his love for her months prior so he hopes that she knows she can tell him anything. He’ll go above and beyond to help her, even though he probably wouldn’t admit it directly.

After another minute of “observing”-which Jake is now realizing is staring-he moves his attention back to his half-eaten breakfast, letting his concerns roll off his back. She probably didn’t sleep well because she’s planning out the next three months or forgot to proofread a thank you card or really anything that she can’t control.

***

As the morning went on the bullpen became it’s usual noisy state. There was Hitchcock and Scully reading over the lunch menu from the new restaurant nearby. Charles was on the phone with one of the many Boyle cousins confirming their plane tickets for their next family vacation at Disney World. Rosa was busy trying to stop a fight that broke out in the holding cell with Terry close behind her. Gina was tweeting something. Jake was helping out a witness and Amy was still doing paperwork.

Just as Amy signed off on her last form, her phone began to buzz. She quickly pulled it out of her pocket to check the caller ID. After reading it she shut it off and placed it face down on her desk, but not before rolling her eyes.

Amy began straightening up her desk, handing her paperwork to Gina who set it aside and said she’ll try to remember to give it to the Captain.

A minute or two later her phone started ringing again. Like before, she rolled her eyes and put it into her purse.

“Santaigo.”

Amy turned her head to see the Captain motioning her to his office. She quickly stood up and walked inside, seeing that Rosa was also in there. Holt returned to his side of the desk and sat back down in the chair.

“I need you and Diaz to go pick up a perp from the Six-Four. Terry thinks he could be an inside man to one of his cases but he is busy with a briefing on the lower floor. You two have no open cases so I hope that is alright with you.”

Amy smiled and nodded, giving a brief glance to Rosa who was also nodding.

“It should not take that long and I may have a few cases for you from local precincts when you return.”

“Will do, Captain,” Amy said politely.

“Dismissed.”

Amy and Rosa left the office and made their way through the crowded bullpen. Is it possible for it to get even busier? As they walked off the elevator and into Amy’s car, Rosa was being her usual silent self.

“So, how did Jake and Katie’s date go?” Amy asked, recalling the conversation they had a few days ago where Rosa had confessed to finally giving Jake her friend’s number.

“Santiago, you know I hate small talk.”

Amy rolled her eyes for what feels like the hundredth time that day. She held up one hand, keeping the other firmly on the wheel, in surrender.

“Sorry.”

Rosa sighed, embracing the silence. But a light went off in her head that maybe she could say a little and see Amy’s reaction to it. She could then tell Jake how she reacted and then maybe they would finally just talk to each other instead of other people.

Rosa didn’t know when she decided to care so much about other peoples’ relations and it was somewhat freaking her out. But deep down she knew they were her closest friends and wanted them to be happy, so she caved.

“Fine, he said that the date went great but they probably wouldn’t go out again. Didn’t say why.”

Amy’s face turned into a confused one.

“That’s strange. I thought they were pretty good for each other. I’ve only met her once but they seemed pretty similar.”

Rosa nodded, noticing her grip on the steering wheel was slightly tighter.

“Why do you care so much?”

“What?” Amy responded, clearly taken aback. “I don’t. I was just curious because he wouldn’t tell me why they weren’t going out again so I thought you would know.”

Rosa smirked to herself. The thing is Jake did tell her why they weren’t going out again, because he wanted to be with Amy, and it was killing her that she promised Jake she wouldn’t say anything.

At the precinct, things were slowly getting organized. Terry’s briefing ended a little early, so he was able to help interview some of the witnesses that were crowding the bullpen. Even Gina was doing work, claiming it was ‘too noisy’ for her to focus on Kwazy Kupcakes.

The elevator dinged as the last witness left. A man who looked to be in his early thirties stepped out. No one but Jake seemed to notice him, and that was mainly due to the fact that he looked familiar. Almost to the point where he could remember specific interactions he’s had with the guy.

He was tall, very tall, and muscular. Not as much as Terry but definitely enough to where Jake was a little intimidated by him. The man wore a thin frown and Jake could see his eyes scanning the room as if he were looking for someone.

By now, Terry had also noticed him. Being closer to the elevator, he stood up and approached the man.

“Hey, how can we help you?” he asked casually, grabbing a pen and paper to take notes just in case he’s here to report a crime.

“Hi, I’m looking for my fiancée. An officer downstairs told me that she might be up here.”

Terry nodded, putting away the paper.

“Okay, what’s her name?”

“Amy.”

“Last name?” Terry asked without a second thought.

“Santaigo.”

That’s when everything froze. The entire bullpen, which had been somewhat quiet, was completely silent. Everyone was frozen in place, even Terry.

“Oh, damn,” Gina said breaking the silence.

Jake couldn’t help but feel his heart drop at the statement.

“Amy as in the detective that works here?” Terry asked, doubling-checking.

“Yeah, why? Did something happen? She wasn’t answering her phone so I thought I’d check on her,” he says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Terry shook the last bit of shock off of him and composed himself.

“No, everything’s fine. She’s just never mentioned being engaged before.”

The man didn’t speak, just nodded slightly at Terry’s words.

Jake couldn’t help but notice the hint of anger that flashed in the man’s eyes. It made him feel unsettled in a strange way, but at this point he was in such shock still that he assumed he was just imagining it.

“She’s out picking up a perp right now but she should be back soon. You can sit at her desk until then,” Terry said, pointing to the desk across from Jake.

The man nodded and thanked Terry before walking over to the desk, sitting down in her chair and observing all the items on top. Jake decided to turn his attention back to his own case. No one here has the answers he’s looking for, plus he’s definitely scared of the guy sitting about four feet away from him.

“This you?”

Jake looked up to see the man holding up a picture frame that sat on the corner of Amy’s desk along with other pictures of her friends and family.

The picture he was now looking at was from the day they beat the vulture. They had the opportunity to retake the picture, since Amy had been affected by the tear gas, a few days later.

Jake held his breath, but nodded. “Yeah. It’s from about a year ago after we solved this really tough case.”

The man nodded, not showing any expression. At least, none that Jake could pick up on.

“You all seem pretty close,” the man said as he continued looking at the pictures on Amy’s desk. “She’s never mentioned any of you though.”

That sentence hit Jake hard. It felt as if a dagger had gone through his chest.

Never? She hasn’t mentioned them ever? She has multiple pictures with everyone on the squad sitting on her desk and none of her fiancé. One who’s she never even spoken about before.

Suddenly, Jake gets a text notification on his phone. He looks down to see a message from Charles.

"She’s got so much explaining to do."

Jake quickly responds.

"yeah no doubt"

A few minutes later, the elevator doors ding again, opening to Rosa standing alone.

“Where’s Santiago?” Terry asks as she walks out of the elevator.

“She’s processing the perp downstairs. She’ll be up in a minute.”

That’s when Rosa noticed the man sitting at Amy’s desk. She quickly sent a confused glance to Charles who mouthed ‘her fiancé causing Rosa’s jaw to almost drop. She sent a threatening look to Charles just in case he was messing with her, to which Charles quickly nodded his head. Without being able to ask any further questions, the elevator door opens for the third time.

This time Amy walks out.


	2. Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically part two of chapter one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't expecting so many people to like this! Thank you all for reading. I'm definitely going to update as frequently as possible.
> 
> This chapter is shorter than the first one because I wanted to give the party it's own chapter.

Amy was texting on her phone when the elevator opened, completely oblivious to what was happening.

“Ames,” the man said standing up from her desk.

Hearing the familiar voice, Amy lifted her head up from her phone. She stopped dead in her tracks when her eyes met the man who was walking towards her.

The squad all (secretly) watched closely as the two reunited. The man pulled Amy, who was still standing completely still, into an affectionate hug. Amy hesitated, but repeated his actions and hugged him back.

“Zack, what are you doing here?” she asked confused. Jake could hear a slight lace of anger in her tone. It was subtle but there.

“You weren’t answering your phone and I got concerned so I decided to come here,” he says nonchalantly.

“Oh…well…I’m here and I’m fine…so you can probably get going,” she said awkwardly.

“Actually can I talk to you in private? I just had few questions about our plans this week that I wanted to run by you.”

“Yeah, sure. But why can’t you just ask them here?”

Zack looked around, his eyes motioning to the stares of her coworkers. Amy’s breath hitched slightly but she eventually nodded and led him outside to the terrace.

Once the door shut behind them, Terry spoke up.

“Okay squad, back to work.”

The bullpen returned to it’s noisy state as everyone attempted to move on from the encounter they just saw.

A moment or two later, Amy and Zack entered the precinct again. This time Jake’s eyes were drawn to her left hand. She was wearing a ring, her engagement ring he assumed. He was positive she hadn’t been wearing it prior to today though.

“So I’m assuming they aren’t coming to the party?” Zack asked looking at Amy.

Amy opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Gina -“Party? What party?”

Zack put his arm around Amy’s shoulders and smiled. “Our engagement party.”

Amy moved her eyes down to her shoes as a look of disappointment, or maybe guilt-Jake wasn’t quite sure-appeared on her face.

“It’s nothing big. Just a little get together with some of our immediate family and close friends. You all can come if you want. It’s this Saturday at our apartment, which I’m assuming you’ve all been to based on the pictures I’ve seen.”

“We’ll be there,” Terry confirms.

“Cool, alright I’ve gotta head off to work. See you later, babe,” he says, initiating a kiss before heading for the elevator.

When the elevator doors closed the precinct fell silent again. Everyone was hoping for Amy to explain what the hell just happened. Instead, she simply returned to her desk and started on a new case.

Rosa was the first one to break the silence. “Santiago, what the hell was that?”

Amy looked up and shrugged slightly.

“What?”

“Oh no, you aren’t pretending like that didn’t just happen,” Terry said. “How come you didn’t tell us you were engaged or even dating someone?”

Amy felt guilty hearing the disappointed tone in Terry’s voice along with the hurt faces that all of her coworkers had.

“I don’t know. The engagement is still pretty new and I didn’t think anyone would care. It’s not a big deal,” Amy said softly.

“Amy, you’re getting married. That’s a pretty big deal,” Rosa said completely dropping her normal “tough” tone.

When Amy just shrugged, everyone (mainly Charles) began bombarding her with other questions.

“When is it happening?”

“Who are your bridesmaids?”

“Where is your honeymoon going to be?”

Jake could see Amy getting overwhelmed. Her breathing was picking up and she was avoiding eye contact -which was unlike Amy.

“Guys, just calm down. It’s new for everyone. Just lay off her a little,” he shouted.

The bullpen went quiet. After a few nods, they all went back to their desks and continued their work.

Amy gave Jake a thankful smile before excusing herself to the bathroom. Jake met eyes with Rosa, hoping she was listening. Thankfully she was and nodded, getting the hint. She waited a moment before heading off to the bathroom. However, she returned a minute later shaking her head.

Jake sighed, defeated. Just as he was about to turn his computer back on and finally get back to work, a lightbulb went off in his head. He quickly stood up and headed to the back of the precinct.

He entered the evidence lockup and just as he thought Amy was pacing in the corner. He closed the door behind him louder than normal so he wouldn’t scare her. He still ended up startling her but it stopped her pacing.

“Hey,” he said gently, something that was new for him. “You okay?”

Amy nodded her head slightly. “Yeah, just a little overwhelmed.”

“Yeah, they can be animals.”

Amy chuckled which sent small fireworks through Jake..

“I just don’t have everything planned out yet so I wouldn’t even be able to answer their questions,” she said casually.

“How long have you been engaged?” he asked curiously, still foggy on the timeline.

“About two weeks.”

“And you haven’t started planning?! Who are you and what have you done with Amy?” Jake asked in a fun tone but was deep down unsteady. “I would’ve thought you’d be finished planning a week ago.”

“Just been busy I guess,” she said quietly.

Jake wanted to ask more but ultimately decided to just let it go. It was obvious she wasn’t too comfortable sharing all the details, especially not to someone who confessed his feelings towards her while she apparently had a boyfriend.

“I’m going to go back out,” Amy said as she left the room, bringing Jake out of his thoughts.

***

The rest of the day continued as normal. Everyone went back to work and didn’t bring up the engagement again that day.

Amy came in the next day with invitations for everyone, even Hitchcock and Scully, for the party. Jake couldn’t help the way his mood declined after receiving his. It just made everything more real.


	3. The (Engagement) Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go down at the engagement party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has commented and left a kudos!

Jake stood in his bathroom, adjusting the tie that was around his neck. The only thing left to do now was put on his shoes, which he was putting off. Putting shoes on meant he had to leave and that meant he had to go to the engagement party -which he was dreading.

Sure, he wanted Amy to be happy. But why not with him?

Everything was moving so fast but it didn’t seem to bother anyone except for himself. I mean, they only found out she was engaged like three days ago. He sighed as he reached for his shoes and slipped them on. He grabbed his keys and left the apartment. Instead of blasting his usual Taylor Swift in the car, he opted for silence. He was in too much thought to listen to anything.

When he pulled into the parking garage he immediately spotted Rosa’s, Charles’s, and Holt’s cars, making him feel a little better knowing he wouldn’t be the first one from the squad to show up. Jake turned the car off and exited the vehicle, to his surprise Charles also got out of his car.

“I thought you were already inside?” Jake asked as he walked towards Charles.

Charles shook his head. “I knew this was gonna be rough for you so I waited.”

Jake nodded as a thank you and they began walking to the apartment. Once they reached Amy’s doorstep, Charles placed a soft knock on the door. A moment later Amy, opened the door, smiling as she let them in.

“Hey guys, thanks for coming. It means a lot,” she said genuinely.

“Of course, wouldn’t miss it." Jake tried to mask his disappointed tone but was failing.

Charles quickly made his way to where Rosa and Holt were standing. Jake was too busy staring at Amy. She had walked over to her kitchen getting what Jake assumed were drinks for them, but he couldn’t help noticing how pretty she looked. She wore a dress that Jake had seen maybe once before undercover. Her hair was down, something Jake loved. It wasn’t until he felt a hand on his back that he realized what he was doing. He looked over and saw Terry smiling sadly at him. Jake, feeling a little embarrassed, just nodded and followed him to their group.

As the group began talking, Jake now was interested in the apartment itself. It still looked pretty similar from the last time he was there. Last year’s Thanksgiving being the most recent. Now, whenever there were gatherings or had to work on cases after shift, it would be at Holt’s house and sometimes Jake’s apartment, never Amy’s.

He still can’t figure out how they didn’t realize Zack also lived here. He had been over a few times before Thanksgiving to work on cases but never once saw him. Even Rosa who had been over more times than him had no clue. He chalked that up to the fact that they probably weren't living together yet or he was just out of town.

“Guys, we can’t just stand together again. Remember Holt’s party? We look too weird,” Terry said to the group.

Getting eyerolls from them, (mainly Gina and Rosa) Terry shoved them off to different sections. Most of them had left in groups: Gina and Rosa, Jake and Charles, Hitchcock and Scully, Holt and Terry. Each group quickly went off and did their own thing, leaving Jake and Charles alone in the middle of the living room.

As they started walking over to the dining area to talk to Amy, a woman brushed against them.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention,” Jake said turning around to apologize. He was met with a woman who was older and looked similar to Amy. “Her mom,” he thought to himself.

“No worries. Hi, I’m Camila, Amy’s mom." She reached her hand out to Jake.

“Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Jake and this is Charles, we work with Amy,” he said shaking her hand.

“Ah yes, I’ve heard about you. Amy talks about you often, both of you.”

Jake could feel his heartbeat quicken with those words. She has talked about him to her mom before?

“You must be special to her. She didn’t tell many people she was engaged,” her mom continued, taking a sip of her drink.

“Yeah,” Jake sighed, deciding to leave out the part where she didn’t actually tell them.

Suddenly, Amy appeared next to her mom.

“Mom, leave them alone,” she said, pushing her back over to who Jake assumed to be her dad. “Was she giving you a hard time?”

“No, she was saying that you have talked about us before,” Jake said with a smug look on his face.

Amy’s face went a bit pink before she shrugged. “Yeah, I talk about some of my cases to her.”

Ouch. She was talking about the cases, not him.

***

The party continued like any other party the Nine-Nine had attended.

Gina was flirting with one of Amy’s brothers while Rosa tried to stop her. Hitchcock and Scully were on the couch watching the tv. Holt and Terry were catching up with some people who Kevin knew from Columbia.

Jake and Charles had chatted to “Amy’s only friend” Kylie for a little before finding two seats in the back of the room. They mostly sat in a comfortable silence except to make comments about Gina every so often.

Jake had secretly been watching Amy and Zack the whole time. There was just something off and he couldn’t figure out what but he knew it wasn’t just the jealously this time. It was the way Amy would jump when he initiated contact of any form. The way she frowned when being near him. It seemed like she was talking to everyone except him, unless he approached her first.

He pulled out his phone and looked at the notes he had written down one night when he couldn’t sleep. He remembered how she didn’t wear a ring until Zack had shown up at the precinct. How she didn’t tell anyone, not even him or Rosa. Especially how she had done no planning whatsoever for the wedding and barely even the party.

The last one was what sent major red flags. This wasn’t Amy. Even at this party she seemed a lot more timid and reserved, something he had never seen.

He began typing his thoughts from today into the same document. He started to combine all the “evidence” and think of different theories.

There was one that was sticking out to him though. The fact that she didn’t want to get married.

After coming to the obvious realization, Jake decided to approach Amy when she had gone off to the kitchen, once again, by herself. Charles had gone over to talk with Gina and Rosa, so he didn’t have to worry about Charles spying on them.

He sighed before standing up from his chair and making his way to the kitchen. 

“Hey,” she said, pouring a cup of water. “You want anything?”

Jake shook his head. “No, I’m good thanks. Actually can we talk? Like somewhere in private?”

Amy narrowed her eyes at him. “Is everything okay?”

Jake nodded. “Yeah. just wanted to talk.”

“Okay, yeah follow me.”

He followed as Amy led him into her bedroom. She left the door open, but it was far enough away that no one would hear him.

“So what’s up?” she asked, still looking a bit concerned.

“I, uh,” he started, unsure if he should do an accent to cut out the awkwardness. He ultimately decided against it.

“I wanted to talk to you about your engagement,” Jake asked in a low tone.

“Okay, what about?” Amy asked, matching his tone.

“It’s just, are you sure you want this Ames? I mean you didn’t tell us about it, you haven’t done your usual Santiago-planning, and you just don’t seem happy. I’m not trying to get in-between you two or anything but, this isn’t like you.”

Amy was quiet for a moment, still trying to process what was said. But before she could open her mouth to respond, a door opened next to them.

“Crap,” Jake mumbled under his breath as he saw Zack exit the master bathroom.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, a mix of hurt, anger, and confusion laced in his voice.

“Uh, nothing. Jake just wanted to talk to me so I brought him here." Jake could see Amy getting flustered.

“Really? ‘Cause to me it sounds like this guy is trying to get in between us, babe,” he said angrily.

“No, he was just checking in. That’s all,” Amy defended, desperately trying to diffuse the situation.

“Check in on what? Us? We’re fine, thanks for asking,” he said a bit louder and sterner.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to start anything,” Jake said, wishing desperately he was back at home in bed.

“Of course you didn’t,” Zack said sarcastically. “I think you should go.”

“Zack!” Amy shouted.

“No Ames it’s fine." Jake looked at her, ignoring the sad look in her eyes.

With that, Jake turned to leave the room. He saw Amy mouth a “Sorry” to him, which he responded with a small smile. He grabbed his coat and left the apartment, ignoring the stares from the other members of the squad.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next day at the precinct after the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments! I didn't think that many people would like this.

The night wasn’t ideal for Jake. First, he had to go to his partner’s, who he still liked, engagement party. Then he got kicked out of said engagement party. When he got home he realized that his orange soda was expired, so he had to throw it out. Lastly, he barely slept. He couldn’t figure out whether that was due to the Amy situation or just the lumps in his mattress, regardless, he was tired.

He was almost excited when his alarm went off in the morning. Sure he loved his job, but he also liked to stay inside and watch Die Hard all day. Going to work meant distraction from his hopeless love life, and he got to spend time with Amy -even though it was just as friends, he didn’t mind.

He showered, ate breakfast, and got into his car, strolling into the bullpen about two minutes late. It was an improvement from the last month though.

He immediately spotted Amy in Captain Holt’s office as he made his way to his desk.

His hands were shaking slightly as he turned on his computer. He was still nervous to see her. He wasn’t sure if she would be mad, annoyed even, or pretend like last night didn’t happen. She wasn’t mad when he left but that could’ve changed. Maybe Zack expressed his concerns and she agreed, who knows?

Jake looked up at the sound of a door closing, seeing Amy walk towards their joint desks. Now that she was facing him, he could see a slight discoloration on her face near her eye. It was obvious she tried to use makeup to cover it, but it was still noticeable.

“Woah, did your face get in a fight with a half-coyote, half-tiger situation?” he asked playfully, hoping to get past the awkwardness he was feeling towards her.

Amy rolled her eyes as she sat down in her chair. “You’ve gotta stop watching cartoons.”

Jake just chuckled before stiffening up. 

“What happened?” he asked curiously.

“I…fell,” she stated unconvincingly.

“Sure you did."

Amy glanced around the bullpen, making sure no one was listening before speaking. “Fine, I was taking my heels off last night and may have accidentally tripped and hit my face on my dresser.”

“Ohh,” Jake laughed, having the same expression when she told him about playing the french horn.

“Don’t you dare make fun of me,” Amy threatened. “You’ve never worn heels so you don’t get to judge.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Amy raised her eyebrows at him in disbelief.

“Okay fine, I haven’t. But you can’t go around assuming things Amy!”

Amy grinned as she chuckled. “Shut up.”

As the conversation ended and each detective went back to work, Jake felt a wave of relief flow through him. They still haven’t addressed the elephant in the room, but at least she was talking to him.

“Actually, can we talk?” Jake asked before realizing what he was doing.

Amy looked up from her file and nodded, standing up to follow him.

He led them to the evidence lockup, for what felt like the twentieth time that week. He closed the door behind him, hoping no one would show up during this awkward conversation.

“What did you want to talk about?” Amy asked as Jake walked back over to where she was standing.

Jake took a deep breath before speaking. “I just wanted to apologize for what happened last night. It was uncalled for me to try and get in between your relationship, and I’m sorry.”

“Wow, that was very noble of you. I thought you were just going to show me that video of a sheep again,” Amy said in a surprised tone.

“What can I say? I’m a noble guy,” Jake said confidently.

Amy shake her head slightly and chuckled.

“No, but seriously, I’m sorry."

“Jake, it’s fine,” Amy said, putting her hand up to stop him from spiraling. “Seriously. You didn’t do anything wrong. You were just concerned and Zack overreacted.”

Jake finally felt like he was able to breathe again. “You sure?”

“Definitely.”

Jake nodded and headed towards the door with Amy following.

“Oh wait, I left my file over there,” Amy said turning around.

Jake watched as she walked back over to the boxes. As she reached for her file, the back of her shirt lifted a bit. It was enough for him to see a dark bruise, almost matching the one that was covering her face.

“Did your back get in a fight with a half-coyote, half-tiger?”

“What?” she asked, completely ignoring what he said about cartoons.

Jake pointed to her back. “You have a huge bruise there.”

“Yeah, when I fell I hit my back on the corner of my bed,” she said nonchalantly as she picked up her file.

“You should take ballet. Might help with your balance,” he said sarcastically, earning an eyeroll from Amy.

Both detectives got back to work as the day went on. The bullpen was crazy. The squad had their normal conversations about who knows what and Gina was still live tweeting everything. So, business as usual really.

Things began to slow down around two. Half of the squad had finished their open cases and there were no perps in the holding cell, which was a rare sight. The group was keeping themselves entertained by guessing each other’s worst habits, obviously Hitchcock and Scully’s being the worst.

“Santiago,” Holt said from his doorway during a “who would most likely succeed in going undercover the longest” conversation.

Amy left the group and walked into Holt’s office, returning a few minutes later with a colored form Jake had never seen before.

“What’s that? Your computer’s search history?” he asked jokingly as he separated himself from the group.

“What? No, it’s a transfer form.”

“What?!” Jake shouted a little too loudly, causing the squad to look over at him confused. Getting a look from Amy, he lowered his voice. “Why would you have one of those?”

“So, I can transfer.” she said bluntly.

“Obviously, but why? Where?” he asked trying to process the information that was being thrown at him.

“Albany. Zack wants to move there. He has some family upstate and might get a job with a corporate.”

Jake bit his tongue to stop himself from completely losing it. He knew he shouldn’t be mad at her, but he can’t help it. Albany was over two hours away, meaning that they would never see each other.

Jake just silently nodded and rejoined the squad’s discussion.

***

The rest of shift went by the same. Holt ended up letting them go a little early since there wasn’t much for them to do.

A few of them were going to Shaw’s but Jake declined. All he wanted was to go home and drink his sorrows away alone. He shut that thought down though, figuring it probably wasn’t the best idea. Instead, he stopped by the liquor store on his way home. He picked up a bottle of wine and drove over to Amy’s apartment.

He debated on turning back around the whole way up. Ultimately, knocking on her door, knowing it too late to run. He hoped that Amy was the one to answer and not Zack. He didn’t need that to go down again.

A moment later, Amy opened the door with a surprised expression. “Jake? What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to drop this off,” he said, holding up the bottle of wine. “To make up for what happened at the party and how I reacted when you said you might be leaving. I should’ve been more supportive.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” Amy said as she took the bottle of wine.

“I did. If you are moving, just know that you’re welcome to visit anytime.” 

Amy smiled, still not used to her partner’s personality change. She was so used to him being witty and a mess.

“Hey Ames, who’s at the door?” Zack’s voice could be heard from a distance, causing Amy’s face to looked panicked.

“I gotta go but, thanks for this,” she said with a soft smile.

“Of course.”

Amy quickly reentered the apartment, shutting the door behind her. As Jake began to walk away, he received a Shaw’s invite from Charles. He was going to turn in down but actually wanted the distraction, so he accepted and started to make his way over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter isn't the best. I knew what I wanted to happen but wasn't sure how to execute it. I hope it wasn't too bad.
> 
> Next chapter is going to pick up though, so be prepared...


	5. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy's in trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw // abuse
> 
> I did some research to make sure the abuse parts were correct and accurate, but if there's anything I missed or you feel needs to be either rewritten, added in, or taken out please let me know.

Jake woke up the next morning with his head aching. He probably shouldn’t have had that last beer that Charles bought him. He sighed, reaching over to his nightstand and digging through the drawer. He took out the painkillers and quickly swallowed one.

He looked over to his alarm clock, getting out of bed when he saw it only read seven. He was surprised how awake he felt. He normally didn’t roll out of bed until eight, at the earliest, to be at work by nine. He subconsciously knew why he wanted to get to work early, knowing Amy was always very early. He made the decision to spend as much time with her as possible before she left.

A coffee, hot shower, and car ride later, Jake strolled into the bullpen at eight. The floor was pretty empty, only a few of the night staff detectives were there. Holt wasn’t even there yet. To pass some time, he made his second cup of coffee and brought it over to his desk. He signed off on a few of his closed cases and left them on Gina’s desk. He glanced to the clock and saw it had been nearly a half hour, so Amy would be here any minute. He took out his phone and started playing one of the many Mario games until someone showed up.

The ding of the elevator caused him to whip his head around. He frowned, seeing it was just Holt. The captain exited the elevator, a slight change of expression when he saw Jake sitting at his desk.

“Peralta? What are you doing here so early?” Holt asked as he entered the bullpen.

“Oh, I just wanted to finish a few things before shift.”

Holt nodded slightly. “I like it. Keep it up.”

Jake gave a small grin before bringing his attention back to his phone.

The minutes went on and more of the squad starting showing up. Next was Terry, then Rosa, then Charles, then Scully with Hitchcock close behind, still no Amy.

They still had roughly five minutes before shift started, so maybe today was one of those days where she got caught up at the bank or one of her twelve alarms didn’t go off. But of course it was the one day he came early, especially for her.

When the clock hit nine, Holt entered the bullpen. “Briefing, two minutes.”

“Can’t we do it in twenty?” Jake asked.

“Why? Is something wrong?” Terry asked, suddenly interested in their conversation.

“Santiago’s not here yet, and she’ll probably flip if she has under ten minutes to prepare for a briefing.”

“Santiago is not coming in today,” Holt said, causing Jake’s face to scrunch into confusion.

“What why?” Jake asked, trying to rack his brain for where she could be.

“Her fiancé called me a few minutes ago. He said she woke up sick.” 

Jake nodded and Holt walked back into his office, shutting the door behind him. He turned around to face the rest of the bullpen. “Okay, so what do you think happened?”

“What?” Rosa asked from her desk, clearly not following.

“Amy. She’s not coming in. What do you think happened?”

“Holt said she’s sick,” Terry said.

“Amy, sick? No, it can’t be. She hasn’t taken a sick day in the eight years she’s been here. Remember when she had the flu and Terry had to make her leave?”

Jake originally asked as a joke, hoping to get a response like ‘she tucked herself into bed too tight’ or ‘had a horrible hangover’ just so he could make fun of her when she returned. Now, he was starting to think something might actually be up. It wasn’t like her to not show up, even if she was sick.

There was a moment of silence before Rosa finally spoke up. “Do you think something’s actually wrong?”

Jake shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, she was fine last night when I dropped something off at her apartment. I just have this weird feeling.”

“Text her, if she doesn’t answer after the briefing then we’ll figure it out,” Charles said reassuringly.

Jake nodded, reaching for his phone that sat on the desk. He quickly typed something up before sending it.

“hey holt said u were sick. do u want one of us to drop off anything? like a case or just food?”

Holt ushered them all into the briefing room, forcing Jake to turn his phone off. 

Even though the meeting was actually interesting, (they talked about case that involved a celebrity) Jake couldn’t stop checking his phone every minute. By the time the briefing was over, he had definitely checked his phone over a hundred times.

As the uniformed officers and anyone who wasn’t in the “inner circle” left, Rosa raised her eyebrows at Jake. Knowing exactly what she was asking, Jake just shook his head.

“Is something wrong?” Holt asked, noticing the squad hadn’t left the briefing room.

“We think something’s going on with Amy,” Jake said.

“Yes, I did find it strange that she called in sick. She has never missed work without requesting it off months in advance,” Holt said. “I have to go to a meeting but keep me updated. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do, sir,” Jake said as Holt exited the room.

“So you texted and no response?” Terry confirmed.

“Yeah, she hasn’t read it either,” Jake said, thankful that she had turned her read receipts on.

“Have Terry call her. She wouldn’t ignore a call from a superior officer, even if she was off,” Charles suggested.

Terry nodded, taking out his phone. He pressed on her contact and turned the phone to speaker. The call immediately went to voicemail.

“Her phone isn’t even on. It’s definitely not dead because she doesn’t let her phone go below twenty,” Rosa said. It was obvious she was getting worried too.

“Call Zack, maybe her phone broke or something,” Gina suggested.

“No, I don’t trust that guy,” Jake said immediately.

Everyone gave Jake a knowing look, which he shut down immediately.

“Not because of that,” he stressed. “Something’s off with them. Have you seen the way she flinches when she’s around them? How she hid the relationship from us for who knows how long?”

No one shut that down, instead Terry spoke up.

“Diaz and Peralta, you two go to her apartment. Just see if she’s there. If she is, no big deal. If she isn’t, call me,” Terry said.

“If she’s not there, we’ll snoop around,” Jake announced.

“No, just call me.”

“Fine,” Jake said before lowering his voice to whisper to Rosa. “We’re gonna snoop.”

“Copy,” Rosa said leaving the room with Jake.

***

“Her car is here,” Rosa said, pointing to the car that sat in her building’s parking garage. The two walked inside the building and made their way up to her floor. 

“Do you really think Zack’s sketchy?” Rosa asked.

“I’m not sure. I mean she doesn’t have any pictures of him on her desk and she didn’t even wear her engagement ring until he showed up,” Jake said, causing Rosa to nod in agreement.

Jake knocked loudly as they approached Amy’s door. They waited for a minute before knocking again, this time by Rosa. “Santiago, come on.”

Still no answer.

“Looks like we’re going to bust the door down,” Jake said excitedly.

“No, we’re going to use a key,” Rosa said, holding one up.

“What? Why do you have that?” Jake asked, slightly offended that he didn’t have one.

“She gave it to me for situations like this,” Rosa said moving over to the door, noting the look on Jake’s face. “Relax, no one else has one. Just me.”

Rosa placed the key inside the lock and turned it, causing the door to unlock.

“Santiago if you’re in there, we’re coming in,” Rosa called.

When there was no answer, both detectives opened the door and stepped inside. Jake started scanning the room. The lights were on and her keys were hanging on the rack. Her work shoes were sat under a chair where he purse was.

She was definitely here.

Both detectives looked to each other before drawing their guns. Jake moved forward, peering his head into the room to his left. “Clear.”

Rosa moved in front of him, checking the bathroom beside her. “Clear.”

This continued until they reached the master bedroom. They opened the door slowly, cautiously approaching the room. 

Rosa slowly counted down with her figures. 3, 2, 1. She burst through the door, Jake following close behind.

She looked around, spotting a figure curled up in the corner. “Amy?”

“No, don’t hurt me!” Amy called out.

“Hey, it’s just us. We aren’t going to hurt you,” Jake said softly. His heart breaking at the sight in front of him.

Amy looked up, a visual breath of relief escaping her.

“Jake,” Rosa said, motioning to Amy’s bathroom and closet. Jake nodded reluctantly, not wanting Amy to be out of sight of him.

To Amy’s surprise, Rosa quickly came over and pulled her into a hug. Something she’s never done before.

“Who did this to you?” Rosa asked once they broke apart.

“Z-Zack,” Amy stuttered.

“Okay, we need to get you to a hospital. Jake, call an ambulance.”

“No, I’m fine. I don’t need an ambulance,” Amy argued.

“Okay, but I still want you to get looked at.”

Amy nodded and Rosa helped her stand up, placing a gentle hand on her back. She spotted Amy's phone, smashed on the floor near the bed. She shuddered, wondering what events caused that.

The three walked out of the apartment together. Rosa still had her hand on Amy’s back, guiding her. Jake just sort of stood behind, unsure of what to do.

The drive to the hospital was silent. No one really knew what to say. Jake sat in the back with Amy so she wasn’t alone while Rosa drove. Jake could tell she was thankful for it. He recognized the smile she gave him when he slid onto the opposing seat.

***

Amy went back to see the doctor while Jake and Rosa sat in the waiting room. They weren’t sure who to call. Holt was in a meeting, so he wouldn’t see it right away. Terry said to call him if Amy wasn’t there, but technically she was. Plus, they weren’t sure if Amy even wanted everyone to know. They would all find out eventually, but it was really her call to make.

Rosa ended up just texting Terry, letting him know that Amy was in her apartment and that they took her to the hospital. But also added that there was no serious injuries so don’t be worried.

“Amy Santiago?” A doctor called from the front. Both detectives stood up from their seats and walked over to him.

“So your friend is fine, physically. She has some serious bruising on her body. But, we’re giving her some cream that will keep the area hydrated but ice packs and painkillers are going to help significantly,” the doctor explained. He then sighed before continuing.

“As for mentally, it’ll be a struggle. I’m not sure on all the details since she hasn’t given us all the details yet. But with most domestic violence cases, which I’m assuming this is, the victims often experience nightmares, panic attacks. She might be startled by sudden touching or loud noises. It really just depends on what is a trigger to her. Meaning, how she was abused.”

Jake was nodding, but wasn’t absorbing any information. He was still trying to process everything.

“Can we see her?” Jake asked.

“Yes, she’s down that hall, third door to the left. I do recommend that she sees a therapist to help prevent further distress and to provide coping methods.”

“Will do, thanks,” Rosa said.

The two of them started walking down the hall and over to Amy’s room. Jake knocked softly before opening the door. Amy was sat on the bed, messing with the corner of the blanket.

“Hey,” she said looking up. The detectives walked inside the room, Rosa shutting the door behind them.

“You doing okay?” Jake asked walking over to sit in the chair next to the bed.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little sore,” she said.

“You aren’t going back to that apartment. You’re staying at my place for a while,” Rosa said, sitting in the chair next to Jake.

Suddenly Amy’s face became panicked. “No, I can’t If I don’t come home, Zack will get mad.”

“Ames, don’t worry about him. You’re safe while you are here or with us,” Jakes reassured.

“No, he’s smart. He’ll figure out something’s up.”

Jake could see how stressed she was. “Fine, we’ll just have Holt call him and say that you have to go undercover for a bit and won’t be home.”

A relieved look went onto Amy’s face. “Okay.”


	6. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy tells the truth about her past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took a while to update! I wanted to fix the problem with my story not showing new chapters before I updated (thank you to those of you who pointed that out). I think I fixed it, but if not please let me know.

“Okay,” Jake said as he returned from the hallway. “I just called Terry, him and the rest of the squad will be here soon.”

“Why is everyone else coming?” Amy asked, sitting a little straighter.

“They’ve been worried about you since this morning. I can tell them to stay if-“

Amy cut him off before he could finish. “No, it’s fine. I just didn’t realize everyone noticed my absence.”

“Of course we did, you’ve never missed a day in your life,” Rosa said, slumping down into one of the chairs beside the bed.

Amy shrugged. “I like to work.”

***

The squad arrived about twenty minutes later. Each one of them rushing into Amy’s hospital room nervously.

“Terry was worried,” Terry said as he pulled Amy into a gentle hug.

Holt was the last to come into the room. His phone was still in his hand as he looked up at the team.

“I just got off the phone with Zack. I told him Santiago would be undercover for a week.”

“He believed you?” Amy asked hopeful.

Holt nodded. “Yes, he did ask a lot of questions like ‘why couldn’t someone else do it’ but I told him that it wasn’t your choice. He respected that.”

“Okay,” Amy whispered, mostly to herself.

“I’m going to send down two officers to watch over him at work, just to make sure he does not get suspicious. Santiago being out of the house for a week should give us enough time to gather enough evidence and arrest him.”

Amy’s eyebrows furrowed as a confused expression appeared on her face. “What? Why are you arresting him?”

“Amy, he assaulted you. He’s not getting away with this,” Jake said, moving to sit on the end of her hospital bed.

“But you know how these cases hold up in court. The judge oversees them and the guy only gets a small fine.” Amy looked over to Rosa. “You know I’m right.”

Rosa sighed. “He’ll get time for assaulting an NYPD officer.”

“But I wasn’t on duty.”

“They don’t have to know that.”

Terry speaks before Rosa can continue her plan. “Amy, this guy basically held you hostage. That with domestic abuse and probably a few others, he’ll be locked up for a while.”

“I don’t know,” Amy said uneasily.

“Listen, we can figure this out tonight, Zack is in the dark so we have a week. Just focus on resting. The doctor said you’ll be discharged in a few hours once he’s finished his rounds,” Jake said gently.

Amy nodded. “Okay.”

“Squad, could I talk to you all outside. I’m going to give you each a position just for extra security,” Terry said, motioning for everyone to follow him.

Once everyone filed into the hallway, Terry lowered his voice. “Okay, I know Santiago’s staying with Rosa for the week, but I think we should all be there tonight. Obviously if that’s okay with you Diaz?”

“Wouldn’t she want to be alone though?” Charles asked questionably.

Rosa looked at Amy through the window before shaking her head. “No, I think being around a supportive group might be good, plus I’m not exactly warm and fuzzy.”

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. “Alright, Peralta you stay here with Santiago. Diaz and Gina go to Santiago’s apartment and grab some of her stuff. Boyle and Jeffords make sure we have eyes on Zack. I will go inform the hospital staff of our situation just as a precaution. Everyone meet at Diaz’s apartment at seven. Dismissed,” Holt commanded.

Everyone followed Holt’s orders and dispersed. Jake knocked gently on Amy’s hospital door, giving a small smile as he entered.

“Is everything okay?” Amy asked looking rather concerned.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Rosa and Gina are grabbing some of your things and everyone else is going to make sure we have extra security. I was ordered to stay here with you.”

Amy chuckled. “Isn’t that all a little overkill? I’m fine, you don’t have to stay. I know you have better things to do.”

“Ames, this is important. We’re all worried about you. We just want to make sure you’re safe. And for the record I have absolutely nothing better to do. All my cases are closed and there are no cartoons on today.”

Amy rolled her eyes, causing Jake to chuckle. He sat down on the chair near her hospital bed and stretched his legs out.

“We’re all going to stay at Rosa’s tonight. Probably order pizza and watch movies,” Jake said.

“Really?” Amy asked, a hint of happiness in her eyes that Jake hadn’t seen for a few months appeared. “But if you all have stuff to do, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“We’re going. It was Terry’s idea.”

Amy glanced down to mess with the blanket, a small smile flashing on her face.

“I have to ask,” Jake started nervously. “Why did you stay with him? You’re a cop, we could’ve helped you sooner?”

Amy sighed. Jake could see her breathing quicken slightly. “It’s long-a lot, I mean. I’d rather just tell you all at once. I don’t think I’ll be able to explain it twice.”

Jake could hear her voice waver, something he’s only heard once before when they had worked a particularly difficult case. He reached over to place a gentle hand on her shoulder. “That’s fine. You don’t have to say anything until you’re ready.”

Amy shot him a grateful smile as she nodded. Jake sat back into his chair and reached for the tv remote.

“What do you want? Property Brother’s or Jeopardy?”

“I don’t care. Whatever’s on,” Amy said, amused that he still remembered her go to guilty pleasures.

“Property Brother’s it is.”

***

Amy was discharged around four. Rosa and Gina picked them up and drove them over to Rosa’s apartment.

When six rolled around, the rest of the squad showed up one by one. First Holt, then Charles, then Terry. Hitchcock and Scully came last, deciding to come when they heard pizza would be there.

They had ordered pizza and set up sleeping bags all around Rosa’s living room. The squad demanded that Amy sleep on the couch, not being sure of the last time she slept decently. Jake was lying on the floor next to the couch with Rosa on his left and Charles on his right.

They watched “Pitch Perfect 2” -Charles’s request- and each person joined in on the songs, even Rosa and Holt. Overall, there were great vibes in the apartment and everyone was having a good time.

As the credits began, Holt spoke up. “Okay Santiago, I just want to inform you that our officers who are watching Zack told me he hasn’t done anything out of the ordinary. He went straight home from work.”

Amy nodded, releasing a breath she didn’t know she had. “Okay good.”

“Are you ready to tell us everything? Only if you’re ready of course but it would really help us to know the details,” Terry added.

“Yeah, you guys deserve to know,” Amy said sitting up on the couch.

“I met Zack in college. It started off causal-nothing serious. Then we got serious towards the beginning of my junior year. He lost a childhood friend in a car accident and just wasn’t the same after that. He began to drink heavily and just was lost. He never got abusive though, not physically at least. I felt guilty leaving though because of everything he was already going through.”

Amy took in a deep breath, hesitating a little before continuing. “I ended up getting pregnant a while later. By then our relationship was already nonexistent. I saw how he was and knew I didn’t want to have a child with him so I tried to break it off. When I tried to leave he started punching me and hitting me. He threatened me a few times after that. I eventually got scared and snuck out when he was at work one day. I know it’s terrible that I didn’t tell him about the baby but I was scared and stupid.”

Amy stopped for a second to regroup herself, being able to feel the rim of tears around her eyes. Jake reached a supportive hand up to her, squeezing her arm.

“So what happened with the kid?” Charles asked softly.

“I only had a few classes left before graduation, so I finished college and moved in with a close friend. I was still young, not financially stable, and just wasn’t ready to be a mom. So I had the baby -a boy- and a family adopted him.”

Amy felt a few tears fall down her face but she swiped them away just as quickly as they fell. Gina reached over and handed her the box of tissues which Amy accepted graciously.

“What was his name?” Terry asked gently.

“Mateo. Luckily the parents kept his name. I wanted him to have something from me."

“So how did you and Zack get back together?” Jake asked.

“About two years ago, Mateo wanted to meet his biological parents. He was eight and had a lot of questions. His adoptive parents tried to call me but I had changed my number, so they never got a hold of me. I put Zack’s name on his birth certificate, so they did research and found him. I guess Zack had pulled himself together and was happy. He met with Mateo and they really bonded. When his parents asked about me he started telling him all these bad things about me. That I was a terrible person, an alcoholic, and all this other crap. When I finally found out, I tried to contact them so I could set the record straight but they wouldn’t even talk to me.”

Amy shook her head and brushed a few more tears away. “Last year his adoptive dad got a head injury at work. He needs full time care and they spent all of their savings on medical bills. They weren’t able to support him financially anymore so they had no choice but to give him up for adoption. The judge prefers to place kids with family over strangers, so me and Zack were informed of this. However, Zack sent in a bunch of letters bad mouthing me and making up tons of lies so I couldn’t get custody.”

“But you’re a detective, wouldn’t they take your word over his?” Gina asked.

Amy shook her head. “Zack happens to know the judge from work. Plus Mateo’s adoptive mom took his side. About a month later, Zack cornered me and told me that if I went out with him, we could both have custody over him. That’s why I moved in with him and agreed to marry him. I’m afraid to leave Mateo alone with Zack but I don’t have any other choice.”

“Damn,” Terry said under his breath.

“Has he been abusive with you before today?” Jake asked.

Amy slowly nodded, not meeting eye contact with any of them. “Nothing too bad. Just a few slaps or punches. The only other time that was really bad was when Jake tried to talk to me about him and he overheard. Then when Jake dropped by yesterday he got really mad and, well you know the rest.”

“Crap, I’m so sorry. I knew something was up and I should’ve never come over,” Jake said, feeling extremely guilty for all the trouble he has caused.

“Don’t be. You didn’t know. You were just trying to help,” Amy said reassuringly.

“We’re going to do this,” Jake stated.

Amy looked at him confused. “Do what?”

“Get your son back.


	7. Overnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their night at Rosa's apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a late update, this election has had me glued to the tv and I completely forgot I had finished this chapter. The next one should be up tomorrow or the day after.

The squad decided to call it a night shortly after Amy’s explanation. To everyone’s surprise, Rosa had a relaxing sleep playlist that echoed through the apartment. The exact words from Jake were ‘Who ARE you?’ Slowly but surely, each one of them fell asleep.

At some point through the night, Jake woke up to the sound of tossing and turning. He squinted his eyes open, hoping no one decided to break into the apartment during the night. He relaxed when he looked around and saw everything completely fine. However, his nerves resurfaced when he glanced to the couch. He saw Amy tossing and turning, a look of discomfort on her face.

Figuring that she was having a nightmare, he reached his hand up to her arm. He shook her softly until Amy’s eyes flew open. She sighed a breath of relief when she saw Jake next to her.

“Sorry, you looked uncomfortable.”

Amy nodded and sat up, leaning her back against the couch. She rested her face in her hands and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Jake turned back around and attempted to fall back asleep. Just as Jake was beginning to drift off again, he heard light footsteps near him. He sighed and sat himself up. Turning around and looking to the couch, he saw it was empty.

Jake stood up from his sleeping bag and scanned his eyes around the apartment. He finally spotted Amy drinking a glass of water in the kitchen. He inched his way out, trying to not disturb Rosa and Charles next to him.

Jake walked toward the kitchen, purposely making his footsteps louder so it wouldn’t scare Amy. She turned around, looking surprised to see Jake standing in the kitchen.

“Why aren’t you asleep?” Amy asked quietly.

“You seemed scared…back there. I don’t know, I just wanted to check up on you.”

Amy, once again, gave him a surprised expression. This was so unlike her usual childish partner.

She shrugged and glanced down to her glass of water. “I’m good, thanks. I’m just-I don’t know. I had a nightmare.”

“Understandable,” Jake said as he slid onto one of the kitchen barstools. “You wanna talk about it?”

“Honestly, not really. I just want this all to be over.”

Amy finally looked up and met eyes with Jake, who gave her a sympathetic smile. He patted the barstool next to him, motioning for her to come sit next to him. She complied and walked over to the barstool, sliding onto it.

“How are you holding up?” Jake asked after a minute, hoping to get an actual answer out of her.

Amy shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just…a lot. I didn’t think I could get out of this situation.”

Jake frowned hearing the sadness in her voice. “Well, you have us now. And we’re going to help you.”

“Thanks,” she said, giving him a shy smile.

They both sat in silence for another minute or so while Amy drank the rest of her water.

“Have you seen him since? Mateo, I mean,” Jake asked curiously.

“I saw him for the first time since he was born in court about a year or so ago. I mean, I’ve seen pictures here and there, but not in person. I’ve never spoken to him though,” she said quietly.

“You didn’t at court?”

“No, his adoptive mom refused to let me near him.”

That sentence prompted another tear to fall down Amy’s face. Jake sighed and reached a gentle hand to rub her back. “Who’s he staying with now?”

“His grandparents. They can’t have permanent custody because of their age but his adoptive mom is reluctant to give him to us because of me.”

Jake sighed again, this time it was out of anger. Who could think that Amy Santiago wasn’t a good person?

“I’m sorry,” she said out of nowhere.

Jake looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed. “Sorry for what?”

“Just, getting you all involved in this. It was my problem and I just made it ten times worse.”

“Woah, woah, Ames. That’s not true. You’ve been through a lot. We just want to help you.”

Amy nodded but didn’t look at him. She kept her focus on the empty glass on the counter.

Jake glanced to look at the clock on the oven before speaking again. “Listen, it’s 4:30 in the morning. We can go back to bed and try to get more sleep, or we can continue to talk until you’re better.”

“Okay,” she said quietly. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem,” Jake replied, flashing her a small smile.

***

In the morning, the squad each took turns getting ready before heading off to work together. They were all pretty quiet in mornings as usual, but Amy made a point to thank each of them separately.

Her and Jake ended up staying up the rest of the night. She told Jake countless times he could go to bed, noticing small yawns coming from him every so often. Each time he refused and stayed glued to the seat, listening to everything Amy wanted to tell him. They steered the conversation to a more light-hearted one, mainly talking about old cases, funniest perp names, even laughing at the bet from the year before.

She had never shared any details about her personal life with really anyone before. Sure, she spoke briefly about her brothers and her school life here and there, but nothing that was currently happening. But she felt so comfortable sharing her personal details with Jake. The way he listened intently, would give small nods to reassure her he was still listening. It just all fit nicely.

She would never tell him this but she liked his company.

While the squad worked in the precinct, Amy stayed in the break room. None of them wanted to leave her alone and she didn't want to be, so they allowed her to come to the precinct. Only if she promised to take it easy and not work.

Her case had become the primary case, so everyone was working it. Each detective trying find different leads. However, that meant Amy couldn’t help out.

Jake could tell she was going insane watching everyone do paperwork while she couldn’t do any. Gina even volunteered herself to go keep Amy occupied. They talked about loads of different things, but it only worked for about an hour. They only had a few hours left of work, so she just had to get by a little longer.

“Squad, meet me in the briefing room in five minutes,” Holt announced from his office doorway. Nods were given around the room and each one of them piled in one-by-one.

“Captain, can I…” Amy asked slightly trailing off, hoping Holt knew what she was asking.

“Yes,” he replied, giving a quick nod. Amy gave a small smile in return before walking towards the briefing room. She took a seat next to Jake in the middle of the room who gave her a confused look.

“Holt said I could be here.”

He raised his eyebrows, his mind rattling all the different possibilities for the topic of this briefing.

“Okay squad, listen up,” Holt said as Charles stumbled into the room last, quickly taking a seat next to Rosa. Jake looked around and realized only the “inner circle” had been called to this meeting, so it was pretty obvious the type of information that was going to be shared. They had tried their best to keep the case under wraps, requested by Amy.

“As you know we had two officers keeping an eye on Zack while we keep Santiago safe and worked the case. They have reported no activity out of the ordinary. So far the only places he has been is the apartment, work, and one store for groceries.”

Amy let out a breath of relief, thankful he hadn’t caught onto her yet.

“As you know I had Diaz and Jeffords search the apartment for evidence, however we still do not have enough to arrest him.”

A roar of sighs were heard around the room. “But the bruises on Amy is evidence. Plus we have her statement, us as witnesses-“ Jake yelled, clearly annoyed.

“It is still not enough, Peralta. Because we’re all cops who work with Santiago, a judge could see any favoritism towards her side,” Terry said speaking up.

“Plus, I was able to get in contact with Mateo’s adoptive family. They all swore not to reveal any information to Zack about what is going on. I did not give details, just asked a few basic questions so do not worry.” Holt took a long pause before continuing. “Each one of them took Zack’s side. Including Mateo.”

Holt looked towards Amy. She nodded, holding up a tough exterior even though it was pretty obvious how devastated she was.

“You know how these cases hold up in court,” Holt continued, “We need more evidence to make sure he gets time.”

Jake sighed, knowing he was right. He gave a small nod to signify that he understood the captain’s orders.

“Dismissed.”

Amy stood up quickly. A rim of tears were very obvious, even though she tried to hide them with her hand. Jake started to stand up but was nudged back down by Rosa, who give him a knowing look. He watched as Rosa headed to the bathroom Amy ran into, Gina grabbing some tissues from her desk before following the detective.

***

The rest of shift was sent trying to find new evidence on the case. Charles was running some background checks to try and find anything from Zack's past that could be used against him. Rosa and Gina had managed to calm Amy down and now Rosa was back at Amy’s apartment searching for evidence.

When it was the end of shift, each one headed out individually leaving Jake, Holt, and Amy the last ones in the precinct.

“Rosa said she’s going to be a little bit because she might’ve found some dents in furniture that could be used for evidence. Go home, Jake,” Amy said, walking towards Jake’s desk.

“How about I drive you to Rosa’s place and stay there until she’s back?” he offers.

Amy looks at him with raised eyebrows. 

“What?” he asks when she doesn’t respond right away.

“I’m just not used to you being so nice to me. I don’t think you’ve tried to tease or insult me in the past three days.”

“Yeah, well this is serious. I want you to know that all of the teasing is just jokes. Even though I hate to admit it,” he says, rolling his eyes playfully. “I do care about you. I want you to be okay.”

Amy felt her cheeks heat up, although she didn’t know why. He’s her partner, close friend, it's normal for him to care about her. They’ve hung out a few times, went on that horrible date a while back but it was all just for fun. Right? There’s not actually something here.

“Thanks, Jake. It means a lot.”

He gave her the iconic Jake smile. The one where he shows genuine emotion and all his teeth.

“Just for the record, I care about you too. If the tables were reversed I’d help you any way I could,” Amy admitted.

“You would?” Jake asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Yeah, I mean, just because I find you extremely annoying doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you.”

“There it is,” he said with a big smile, causing Amy to chuckle.

“Okay, come on. I’m staying with you until Rosa gets back. That’s an order,” he said, shutting off his computer and standing up from his desk.

Knowing she would lose, and honestly wanting the company, she agreed. “Fine, I’ll go let Holt know we’re heading out.”

***

The two drove back to Rosa’s apartment in a pretty good mood, despite everything that’s going on. He’s managed to distract her by keeping the conversations light and breezy. Only talking about things that interest her and making jokes about them to try and make things seem normal. Even though normal was far from the truth.

“Hey Ames,” Jake said once they had settled into the apartment. Jake had found a frozen pizza that he heated up for them, of course asking Rosa first if they could do so. Now, they were sitting on the couch with the tv playing some channel that neither one of them were really watching. Both of them silently eating their slices.

“Yeah?”

“I wasn’t going to tell you this until tomorrow because some details still need to be worked out but…I actually got in touch with Mateo’s family,” Jake said.

Amy tilted her head, needing more information to see what he was saying. They had the family’s phone numbers, so it was pretty easy to contact them. Holt did earlier.

“I know this probably goes against so many policies but I did run it by Holt first if that makes you feel any better. I told his adoptive mom that you aren’t a monster and you actually care. I don’t know if it was because I’m a cop but she believed me.”

Amy perked up, her eyes widening with shock.

“She agreed to let you meet Mateo. We didn’t discuss when or where yet. Probably at like a park or arcade that he likes.”

Amy stared at Jake in shock. Her hands still held her slice of pizza near her plate, but they haven’t moved the entire time he spoke.

She finally was able to get some words out. “How did you? Why did you?”

“Well I already told you how,” Jake said chuckling. “But I don’t know, I felt like you needed a pick me up and I still feel bad about causing some of this so, it was the least I could do.”

Amy quickly set her plate aside and wrapped Jake into a tight hug. “Thank you, so much.”


	8. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy meets Mateo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to go up last night but here it is. Better late than never.

The day came quick.

Granted, it was only two days later. But, Amy wasn’t expecting to meet her son at all, forget meeting him within the week.

Jake called Mateo’s adoptive mom the following morning and they agreed to meet at a local pizza restaurant that had a small arcade. It was popular enough that it wouldn’t be awkwardly silent, but quiet enough where they could talk and get to know each other.

Jake’s been at the apartment with Amy more than Rosa has. Since the evidence they found hadn’t finished being processed, they needed to stall. Captain Holt made the phone call to Zack saying that Amy had made contact but it was going slow, meaning she needed to be away longer. Luckily he bought it, but the squad didn’t want to take any chances so Rosa and Charles became the “Zack observers” as they had gotten into the habit of saying.

“Amy, you ready?” Jake called from the living room.

“Yeah, one second.”

Jake slid on his shoes, going for the sneakers he wears when the occasion is a little fancier than just going out. Sitting on the couch, he checked his messages—no new ones. They had opted for a pizza shop on the opposite side of Brooklyn to avoid any run ins with Zack, so Jake had to be on alert just in case he got close.

Amy emerged from the bathroom a few moments later. She wore some black jeans and a blouse that Jake was positive he’s seen her wear to work before. Her hair had been successfully de-braided and was now flowing normally down to her shoulders.

“You look nice,” Jake complemented. A rose color glossed Amy’s cheeks as she exited the bathroom.

“Thanks, so do you. You know you don’t have to come. You’ve already done so much for me already, I don’t want to burden you.”

The look on Jake’s face softened. “Amy, you’re not burdening me. I’m choosing to be here. I just want to help.”

A grin appeared on Amy’s face. “Thank you.”

***

The drive to the parlor was quick. It was noon on Friday, so the majority of people were at work or school. Mateo was excused from school today, so it was perfect. Jake pulled into a parking spot near the entrance. A visible wave of nerves went through Amy as he turned off the car.

“You alright?” he asked, reaching a gentle hand to rest on her shoulder.

She smiled weakly. “Yeah, just nervous.”

Jake scanned the parking lot briefly before glancing to his watch. “Well, we’re about five minutes early and they aren’t here yet. The only ones here are the workers and maybe one or two others.”

Amy was going to ask how he knew that but before she could, Jake opened his car door and hopped out. Amy did the same, walking around the car to Jake before walking towards the door.

They took a table near the front so they had a clear view of the door. The restaurant was quaint. The yellow walls made the room bright and colorful. Dozens of tables filled the room and the loud sound of machines came from the corner where the arcade is.

Amy fiddled with her fingers as her leg nervously bounced up and down. Jake noticed, placing a hand on her leg briefly, causing her to glance up at him and give a slight nod.

After a few false alarms of new costumers coming in, a lady with blonde hair holding hands with a dark-haired boy came through the door. 

Amy’s eyes fell to the young boy holding hands with the woman, who looked around curiously.

She nudged Jake slightly. “That’s him.”

Jake’s eyes fell to the boy trailing behind the lady, who scanned the room before going Jake a quick smile. The boy looked like a spitting image of Amy. That definitely was Mateo.

“Jake Peralta?” The woman asked as she approached the two.

Jake nodded. “Yes, nice to meet you in person.” He extended a hand to her, which she shook with a smile. Her gaze moved over to Amy.

“Hi, nice to see you again,” she greeted.

“You too,” Amy answered, shaking her hand.

Her and Mateo sat in the chairs opposite of Jake and Amy. After they settled in, the lady—Laila they figured out—sent an apologetic smile towards them.

“I’m sorry this is the only day we could meet. Mateo has a soccer game tomorrow and on Sunday I have a business meeting all day.”

“It’s no problem, thanks for agreeing to be here,” Jake reassured.

Laila shifted her gaze once again over to Amy. “I just want to apologize for everything. I was wrong and should’ve heard you out.”

Amy smiled briefly. “It’s alright. You couldn’t have known.”

Laila glanced down to Mateo, realizing she hadn’t introduced him yet. She gently tapped him, taking his attention off of the menu and onto her.

“This is Amy,” she said, motioning her arm out. “Your biological mother.”

Mateo quickly went shy. He waved a small hand towards her. Amy copied his movement, both exchanging a quiet “Hi.”

***

The lunch went well. The conversation consisted of learning about each other’s families. Laila spoke about her history and why she turned to adoption while Amy spoke a little about hers, answering the burning questions Laila and Mateo had been wondering for years.

Now, Mateo and Amy headed into the arcade while Jake and Laila stayed back at the table. Mateo had been pretty quiet while they ate, so Laila offered for them to talk just the two of them.

They sat in silence as both adults watched Amy and Mateo walk towards the racing game. Both had a big smile on their face as they placed their tokens inside.

“So what’s your relationship like with Amy? Are you together, I mean.”

Jake’s head spun to face the lady, the question throwing him off guard. “No, we’re not together. Just work partners.”

“Really? The way you spoke about her on the phone and how you’re looking at her right now, I would’ve expected you to be dating since the engagement wasn’t ‘real.’”

“I mean, we’re good friends and have been partners for years, but nothing more ever happened.”

“Do you want there to be more? I mean, you set this whole thing up. You’ve gotta have some feelings for her.”

Jake sat thinking. He, of course, wants to date Amy. He would love nothing more than for them to be together. But she doesn’t want that. She’s never told him that but he knows she doesn’t.

Instead of saying all of that, Jake just shrugged. “I’m not sure. I would like something to happen, but she’s got so much on her plate that I don’t want to stress her out more.”

“I’m sorry about that, by the way.” Laila shifted her eyes off of Jake and down to her hands. “I knew about the engagement, but I didn’t know he was abusive. I never would’ve taken his side if I had known that.”

Jake gave her a sympathetic look. “Like Amy said before, you didn’t know. It’s not your fault.”

The woman nodded, giving him a thankful smile.

Jake turned his attention back to Amy and Mateo. They were now sat on one of the benches near the machines. Their lips were moving but Jake couldn’t hear anything.

***

After they raced in the Mario game, Mateo turned to Amy with a curious gaze. “Can we talk?”

Amy’s eyebrows went up in surprise. The boy had been fairly quiet, only making comments here and there and small laughs when Amy would say something funny. “Of course.”

Amy led them to a bunch nearby, both sitting down and locking eyes.

“What do you want to talk about?” Amy asked curiously.

Mateo shrugged. “I dunno. I have a few questions. I’ve heard so much information the past few days and I’m confused.”

Amy nodded for him to continue.

“Is my biological dad bad?”

Oof, Amy wasn’t expecting this right out the gate.

She softened the look on her face, ignoring the lump forming in her throat. “Yeah, he is. I don’t know what your parents have told you, but-he’s not a great guy.”

Mateo moved his focus down to his shoes. “They haven’t said much, just that I can’t talk to him again because he’s not good.” He thought for a moment before asking his next question. “Why did he say you’re a bad person? You’re not, right?”

Amy shook her head. “No, I’m not bad. I’m not sure why he said those things.”

Amy was beginning to feel frustrated. She wanted to explain everything to him, but he’s only ten—plus she doesn’t even know all the answers.

“Do you have anymore questions?”

Amy could almost hear the gears turning in his head. It was obvious he was debating whether or not to ask the next question. “Why didn’t you want me to begin with?”

Amy’s heart broke at the question. She fought away the tears burning her eyes and offered him sad smile. “I always wanted you. But when I had you, I was really young and couldn’t afford a baby. There were a few other reasons but not one of them is because of you.”

She paused, composing herself before continuing. “I don’t know if you know this, but I’ve been trying to meet you for years. One day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about you.”

He turned his head at that. “Really?”

Amy nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been waiting to meet you for so long.”

A bright smile appeared on Mateo’s face. Before Amy even realized, the boy wrapped his arms around her. She quickly copied the movement, holding him close to her.

Once they broke apart, they both had glossy eyes. “So, you want to play air hockey?

Mateo looked at her excitedly. “Yeah!”

***

After about an hour, Amy and Mateo returned to the table. Jake and Laila had begun talking about their jobs. She worked at a business near the school his mom taught at, so they had a few mutual friends.

They said their goodbyes, promising to make another meetup in the near future.

Jake and Amy were now inside of Jake’s car, both catching up on text messages before heading back to Rosa’s apartment.

“Hey Jake?” Amy suddenly said.

“Mhmm,” he hummed.

“Thanks for helping me. I know I’ve said this a lot, but I don’t think anyone has ever done this much for me.”

Jake took his attention off of his phone and looked over to her. “Yeah, of course. I’m just doing what any good partner would do.”

Partner. Jake hated using that word nowadays. He wished they could be more than just partners.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Amy said before moving her head to look out the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourself for the next one.


	9. Unexpected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving! I'm sorry I haven't updated recently. I've been writing a lot of essays for class, so when I went to write this everything was boring and just didn't feel right. I'm still not 100% happy with how it turned out, but it works. Also there might be some typos, it's only like half edited.

“I can’t believe you’re letting him crash at your place,” Amy said in disbelief, motioning to over to Jake who was pressing buttons cluelessly on Rosa's coffee machine.

Rosa shrugged. “I’m working on your case most of the time, so he’s here when I can’t be,” she paused for a second, taking a sip of her tea before mumbling something into the mug. “He also threatened to sleep in the hallway outside my apartment if I didn’t let him in.”

A scoff was heard from the kitchen. “It worked, didn’t it?”

Suddenly a loud beeping sound echoed through the apartment. Rosa turned to see Jake with a terrified look on his face as he stared questionably at the machine.

“Hey, dumb dumb, try not to break it,” Rosa said, walking quickly into the kitchen and ripping Jake away before he can do more damage.

Rosa began reprimanding him on the basics of a coffee machine, but Jake wasn’t paying attention to that. Instead, an amused Amy had caught his attention—laughing at his irresponsibility.

Despite the circumstances, she had been on cloud nine since their meeting with Mateo yesterday. It had gone so much better then they had expected. So much so, that at some point today he was expecting another phone call from Laila to set up another meeting.

As if on cue, his phone began to ring. Rosa was still going on, so he mumbled a “okay, okay,” as he walked back into the living room. Digging for his phone, he grabbed it out of his pocket, smiling a bit when he read Laila’s name.

“Hello?”

There wasn’t an immediate response, just some staggered breathing quickly followed by silence.

“Hello?” Jake repeated. “Laila?”

That seemed to catch Amy’s attention because she was now staring at him, a concerned expression on her face as she pulled the blanket on top of her closer.

“J-Jake?”

His heart rate quickened. “Laila? Are you okay?”

“It’s Mateo - he’s gone,” she said hysterically.

Jake’s breath sharpened at that. “What do you mean?”

“He - he was at his soccer game, and…and then I came back to pick him up and he wasn’t there.”

“Okay, it’s okay. It was probably a misunderstanding. I’m sure he just went with a friend or something.”

There was an audible sigh. “Y-yeah, I suppose so.”

“Okay, great. Come down to the precinct and we’ll figure it out, okay?”

Jake was surprised at how calm his voice sounded. He’s seen cases like this. Sports games, music practice—common places for a child to be taken. He really hoped his trained answer, him going off with a friend, was true. He didn’t know if he could face Amy if they found out he was actually gone.

“Okay, thank you. I’ll be there as soon as possible.” With that, the line went dead and Jake hesitantly brought his phone away from his ear.

“Jake? What happened? Is everything okay?” Amy’s voice asked, her tone so full of worry and nervousness. He didn’t want to look at her. He knew he’d come clean as soon as he did.

“Jake?” she asked again. That was what did it. He finally looked at her, his tired eyes meeting hers. He didn’t answer still, just simply walked over to her, sitting down on the cushion next to her.

“Ames, I, uhh - I need you to stay calm when I say this because if you spiral it won’t help us and this is something that-“

“Jake!” Amy cut off.

“Mateo’s missing.”

He said it so quickly that he didn’t know whether he just imagined it. It was the confusion in Amy’s eyes that made him realize he actually said it.

“What do you mean? He was fine yesterday.” Her voice was small and Jake could tell she was trying to retrace everything from yesterday.

“Yeah, I guess he was at a soccer game and when Laila went to pick him up he was gone.”

Rosa, who had overheard everything from the kitchen, entered the living room. “Could a friend or someone picked him up?”

Jake shrugged. “Possibly, that’s what I told her. Although nine times out of ten in cases like this, it’s not a misunderstanding pick-up situation.”

His eyes fell to Amy, who had gone quiet. Her head was now resting against her hands as she tried to make sense of the situation.

“Let’s just go to the precinct. We can’t do anything here,” Rosa said.

***

Everyone had filed into the briefing room. Luckily, it didn’t take long for everyone to pile into the bullpen after receiving the call.

“Okay squad, we have a new case.” Holt paused. He rarely showed emotion, but after reading the information that was printed in front of him, he did. “We having a missing child case.”

“No offense, but why are we all here on a missing child’s case, on our day off?” Terry asked as his eyebrows furrowed.

Holt sighed, removing his glasses and glancing briefly to Amy—who had her gaze fixed on the table in front of her. “This is case of a missing Mateo Santiago.

A silence followed. A few sighs and looks were thrown around, all towards the detective who was sitting in the front corner of the briefing room. Jake was sat next to her, a gentle hand placed firmly on her arm.

Charles was the one to break the silence. “How can we help?”

“Laila - Mateo’s adoptive mom, is coming in. I’ll see exactly what happened, in the meantime I guess just start checking security footage nearby.” When Jake finished, he looked to Holt for approval, receiving a small nod.

“Dismissed.”

***

It only took a few minutes after the briefing for Laila to came rushing. She had red-rimmed eyes and tears streaming down her face. Jake saw her immediately and quickly guided her into the break room.

“I figured this would be less scary (and real he wanted to say) than the interrogation room.”

Laila looked around the small break room, nodding slightly. She sat down at the table, Jake sitting across from her. Terry was also sat on the couch, hoping to listen in and send updates to the squad as they were happening.

“Okay, start from the beginning. You took Mateo to his soccer game?” Jake asked, jotting a few things down on his notepad.

“Yeah, his game started at eight. We got there around seven forty-five. I dropped him off because I had a last minute meeting at work. I did walk him all the way to his coach though.”

“When did you go to pick him up?”

“My meeting finished at ten-thirty, so I got there around eleven. His games normally finish at ten but he’ll stay and practice off to the side as the older kids have their game.” She paused for a moment, quickly wiping her eyes. Terry reached over and placed the tissue box in front of her. She smiled in return as she took one out of the box.

“I’ve had last minute meetings come up like this before. I’ve worked it out with his coach, so she keeps an eye on him during the older kids’ games.”

Jake nodded, writing some more stuff down. “Is there anyone he would be comfortable leaving with? He seems like the type of kid to avoid strangers.”

Laila bobbled her head. “He does. The only person he could’ve gone with was his friend’s mom Tanya, but she texted me on the way here and said he wasn’t with her.”

Jake sighed. This is how all of his kidnapping cases had gone in the past. He wanted to ignore that thought. He want to accept that this was one of those times.

“We’ll call coach and see if she knows who he went with, can you write down her number?”

Laila mumbled a “mhmm” as she reached for his pen and scribbled down the number. Jake handed the paper to Terry to began typing quickly on his keyboard.

“I can’t believe this happened,” Laila finally said. “We’ve always been so careful with everything. But then when my husband got injured, things changed I guess.”

“It happens. Don’t beat yourself up about it, it’s not your fault. I’ve seen this happen with parents who’s never let their kids out of their sight.”

Laila nodded before motioning a hand towards the bullpen. “How’s Amy doing with all of this? I didn’t see her when I came in.”

Jake drew in a shaky breath. “She’s quiet. I don’t know, she kinda shut down when I told her. She’s in the briefing room with one of our detectives right now.”

Laila reached out and placed her hand on Jake’s arm, rubbing it slightly. “Go talk to her, I’m sure it’s you she needs right now.”

Jake flashed a genuine smile before quickly glancing over to Terry, forgetting his boss was in here and just heard about his obvious feelings for his partner. Terry didn’t look up from his computer but he did have a softer, almost knowing look on his face. Jake recognized it from the night they solved the cold case and he found out about his feelings towards her.

***

Jake told Laila she could stay at the precinct as long as she wanted. Usually it was something against protocol but since this was close to them, Holt allowed it.

The squad with the exception of Jake and Terry, was sat in the briefing room, waiting for updates. Jake and Terry had gone to call the coach and see if she knew what had happened.

It was the glum, almost angry look on Jake and Terry’s faces that sent chills down their spines as they entered the room.

“Okay, listen up,” Terry started. “We just called the coach to see if she knew who Mateo went with.”

The was a long pause that followed, neither one of them wanting to continue.

“She said she didn’t know the guy when he arrived, so she stopped him before they could leave. She said that the man introduced himself as Mateo’s father.”

“Did she give a description? Do we know if it’s him?” Charles asked.

“It’s him,” Jake said sadly. “Described him perfectly.”

Amy mumbled a quiet “Oh my god” and it took everything for Jake not to run over there.

“Charles and Diaz check if the security company sent the footage, I’ll go talk to the uniformed officers that were supposed to be keeping watch on Zack,” Terry announced. He leaned over to Jake and said something quieter. “You stay with Santiago.”

Jake furrowed his brows at him, confused as to why he didn’t want him out helping with the case. As if Terry read his mind, the sergeant pointed to Amy subtly. When Jake looked, the sight broke his heart. She was (badly) attempting to cover up the fact she was now crying by leaning into her hands. She had her eyes focused on her shoes and he could almost hear her thoughts.

“Dismissed,” Terry said as the squad dispersed. Jake walked towards Amy slowly, hoping to not startle the girl.

“You doing alright?”

Amy’s red eyes looked up at him before rolling slightly. “That’s a dumb question.”

Jake chuckled lightly as she plopped down into the set beside her. “Yep, I deserve that.”

Amy didn’t laugh however, just stifled another sob and wiped her wet eyes with her sleeve. Jake’s heart was breaking at the sight. 

“Come here,” he whispered, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her close.

“This is all my fault,” she sobbed.

“What?!” Jake said in disbelief. “How?”

Jake felt Amy shrug, “I’m the one who couldn’t leave Zack and then when I did leave him, he does this.”

“Ames, none of this is on you, okay? None of it.” She nodded her head underneath his chin. “We’ll find him.”

“Okay.”


End file.
